christian

plural christians

1. uncommonUncommon spelling of Christian.

   Hence the faithful christians will readily obey Christ, who is the ruler of justice in the community.

   1967, Francis Xavier Murphy, Politics and the Early Christian, page 65

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   […] I ſtopt ſhort, and, pocketting my ducats in a great hurry, took out ſome rials, approached the hat, that was expoſed for the reception of charity extorted from chriſtians by fear, and dropt them into it, one after another, that the beggar might ſee how nobly I uſed him.

   1749, [Alain-René Lesage], “Of His Being Grievously Alarmed in His Way to Pennaflor: […]”, in [Tobias George Smollett], transl., The Adventures of Gil Blas of Santillane, volume I, London: […] J. Osborn, […], →OCLC, book I, page 5

   Corinna then recollected, that in this very amphitheatre, the persecuted christians died victims of their perseverance, and shewing Lord Nelville the altars which are raised in honour of their ashes, as well as the path of the cross, which is trodden by penitents, at the foot of the most magnificent wrecks of worldly grandeur, asked him, if the ashes of martyrs conveyed no language to his heart?

   1807, [Germaine] de Staël Holstein, translated by D[ennis] Lawler, “[Book IV. Rome.] Chap[ter] IV.”, in Corinna; or, Italy. […], volume I, London: […] Corri, […]; and sold by Colburn, […], and Mackenzie, […], →OCLC, page 208

   John 13th, invented the christening and blessing of bells, which ceremonies must certainly have rendered these noisey things, more sonorous and pleasing to the pious ear of a good christian.

   1828 July 5, “The Progress of Christian Superstition”, in The Correspondent. […], volume III, number 24, New York, N.Y.: […] Geo[rge] Houston & Co. […], →OCLC, “Miscellaneous” section, page 383

   […] a lector of water levels, most venerable Kevin, then effused thereby letting there be water where was theretofore dry land, by him so concreated, who now, confirmed a strong and perfect christian, blessed Kevin, exorcised his holy sister water, perpetually chaste, so that, well understanding, she should fill to midheight his tubbathaltar, which hanbathtub, most blessed Kevin, ninthly enthroned, […]

   1939 May 4, James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, London: Faber and Faber Limited, →OCLC; republished London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1960, →OCLC, part IV, pages 605–606

   The most isolated christian […] does not come to God like the pagan mystic, as the alone to the Alone.

   1945, Gregory Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy, page x

comparative more christian · superlative most christian

1. uncommonUncommon spelling of Christian.

   She said, that sculpture was a pagan art, and painting a christian one; […]

   1807, [Germaine] de Staël Holstein, translated by D[ennis] Lawler, “[Book VIII. The Statues and the Pictures.] Chap[ter] III.”, in Corinna; or, Italy. […], volume II, London: […] Corri, […]; and sold by Colburn, […], and Mackenzie, […], →OCLC, page 205

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   When I employ myſelf upon a paper of morality, I generally conſider how I may recommend the particular virtue which I treat of, by the precepts or examples of the ancient heathens; by that means, if poſſible, to ſhame thoſe who have greater advantages of knowing their duty, and therefore greater obligations to perform it, into a better courſe of life: beſides that many among us are unreaſonably diſpoſed to give a fairer hearing to a pagan philoſopher, than to a chriſtian writer.

   1711 November 3, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, “The Spectator”, in Saturday, volume 3, number 213

   Now, we have no particular objection to this Santa Claus business, but will say what we have said before, that it is entirely overdone and a long ways from being proper in the so-called “christian America.”

   1912 December 20, “Lone Pine”, in Banner County News, volume XX, number 51, Harrisburg, Neb.: Banner County News Publishing Co, →OCLC, page [8], column 4

   The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!) of a once wallstrait oldparr is retaled early in bed and later on life down through all christian minstrelsy.

   1939 May 4, James Joyce, Finnegans Wake, London: Faber and Faber Limited, →OCLC; republished London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1960, →OCLC, part I, page 3

   Of all christian ‘ritual patterns’ that of the eucharist is by common consent central and most important.

   1945, Gregory Dix, The Shape of the Liturgy, page ix

   The emergence of basic christian communities as a new radical model of church is closely linked with Latin American Liberation Theology.

   1985, Helen Ralston, “Models of ‘Church’: A Cross-cultural Perspective”, in Journal of Comparative Sociology and Religion, number 12, page 22

plural Christians · alternative uncommon christian · alternative abbreviation Xtian · alternative abbreviation derogatory sometimes Xian

1. A believer in Christianity.

   The whole life of a good Christian is nothing else but a state of holy desire (sanctum desiderium).

   1848, James Ford translating St. Augustine in The Gospel of St. Matthew, Illustrated from Ancient and Modern Authors, p. 46

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   Shyl.... If a Iewe wrong a Christian, what is his humillity, reuenge? If a Christian wrong a Iewe, what should his sufferance be by Christian example, why reuenge? The villanie you teach me I will execute, and it shall goe hard but I will better the instruction.

   c. 1596–1598 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Merchant of Venice”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene i]

   “Mahatma Gandhi, I am very anxious to see Christianity naturalized in India, so that it shall be no longer a foreign thing identified with foreign people and a foreign government, but a part of the national life of India... What would you suggest that we do to make that possible?” He very gravely and thoughtfully replied: “I would suggest, first, that all of you Christians, missionaries and all, must begin to live more like Jesus Christ.”

   1925, E. Stanley Jones, The Christ of the Indian Road, page 118

   […]thousands of people have been killed in recent years in violence between Muslims and Christians, in Nigeria and Indonesia in particular, but on a lesser scale in other regions as well.

   2008, Christopher Catherwood, Making War in the Name of God, page 188

   In the year 144, the church declared Marcion of Sinope, a rich shipping magnate and part-time theologian, a heretic for declaring the God of the Hebrew scriptures to be inferior to the God of the New Testament. But despite this condemnation, popular Marcionism has continued ever since. You hear Christians lapse into it all the time with the lazy argument, "Oh, that's just the Old Testament", when confronted by the claim that the Bible is violent.

   2013 October 7, Giles Fraser, “How the Mail Got It Wrong, Again...”, in The Guardian

   1. nonstandardAn adherent of Christianity who is not a Catholic; a Protestant.

      Another way Christians and Catholics are perceived as anti-homosexual is via institutional oppression.

      2022, Arthur David Canales, Pastoral Care to and Ministry with LGBTQ Youth and Young Adults, Eugene, Oregon: Wipf & Stock, →ISBN, page 69

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      On the contrary, many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Christians and Catholics, including heterosexual allies of lesbians and gay Christians, of them, have voiced their opinions on the complicated issues of religion and sexuality.

      2011, Denise Tse-Shang Tang, Conditional Spaces: Hong Kong Lesbian Desires and Everyday Life, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, →ISBN, pages 67–68

      In South Korea, the Mingjung Theology inspired Christians and Catholics to question the legitimacy of the authoritarian regime.

      2012, Cheng-tian Kuo, “Institutional Choices of Church-State Relations in Chinese Societies”, in Baogang Guo, Chung-chian Teng, editors, Taiwan and the Rise of China: Cross-Strait Relations in the Twenty-first Century, Lanham: Lexington Books, →ISBN, page 123

      The point of emphasis here is the fact that many Igbo became Catholics or Christians not because they were convinced of the teachings and practice of Christianity but as a result of many factors.

      2013, Eze Ikechukwu, Being a Christian in Igbo Land: Facts, Fictions and Challenges, Berlin: Logos Verlag Berlin GmbH, →ISBN

      Catholics, Christians, Jews, Muslims, and any other dogma that you read about were warring, while fully in their deception from the Light of Truth.

      2021, Yahonathan Daweed, Yahweh for Christians: I Am Original Words, Original Truth, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Dorrance Publishing Co, →ISBN, page 161

2. A person who seeks to live his or her life according to the principles and values taught by Jesus Christ.

   Ye lyfe of euery christian, is as a pilgremage.

   1526, William Bonde, Preface to Pylgrimage of Perfection

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   The very word ‘Christianity’ is a misunderstanding—at bottom there was only one Christian, and he died on the cross.

   1976, Friedrich Nietzsche, translated by Walter Arnold Kaufmann, The Antichrist, §39

   ‘You’re riding for a fall, Healey, you know that? There are hedges and ditches ahead and you are on course for an almighty cropper.’ ‘Sir.’ ‘And I shall be cheering and laughing as you tumble,’ said Meddlar, his spectacles flashing. ‘That’s just the warm-hearted Christian in you, sir.’

   1991 September, Stephen Fry, chapter 1, in The Liar, London: Heinemann, →ISBN, section II, page 20

3. EnglandobsoleteA European, especially though not necessarily of the Christian religion.

plural Christians · alternative uncommon christian · alternative abbreviation Xtian · alternative abbreviation derogatory sometimes Xian

1. countableuncountableA male given name from Ancient Greek found in England since the twelfth century.

   Roughly 40 to 45 percent of Signature’s gynecomastia patients, says co-founder Christian Gotti, are users of Image- and Performance-Enhancing Drugs (IPEDs).

   2022 June 28, Jamie Millar, “'SARM Goblins': The Young Men Hooked on Steroids”, in VICE, archived from the original on 07 Nov 2023

2. countableuncountableA female given name from Ancient Greek of medieval usage, rare today.
3. countableuncountableA surname originating as a patronymic.
4. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Logan County, West Virginia, United States.

comparative more Christian · superlative most Christian · alternative uncommon christian · alternative abbreviation Xtian · alternative abbreviation derogatory sometimes Xian

1. not comparableOf, like or relating to Christianity or Christians.
   1. nonstandardnot comparableOf, like or relating to Protestant Christians.

      This is not to say that there is no discord within Christian and Catholic congregations on this issue.

      2011, Denise Tse-Shang Tang, Conditional Spaces: Hong Kong Lesbian Desires and Everyday Life, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, →ISBN, page 67

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      While Christian churches allow lay believers in Jesus to do exorcism, Catholics limit the practice to selected priests.

      2000 November 10, “The scourge of evil spirits”, in SCMP

      When asked whether they are Christian, some Catholics respond, “No. I am Catholic.” Many Catholics see the Christian question as an attempt to discover whether they have accepted Christ in a way that is more representative of a Protestant or evangelical experience. Saying, “No, I’m not Christian” can also be a way to assert a student’s distinctively Catholic identity, even though they know Catholics are Christian because they believe in Christ.

      2019, Katie Brick, J. Cody Nielsen, Greg Jao, Eric Paul Rogers, John A. Monson, “Understanding Christian Students on Campus”, in Kathleen M. Goodman, Mary Ellen Giess, Eboo Patel, editors, Educating About Religious Diversity and Interfaith Engagement: A Handbook for Student Affairs, Sterling, Virginia: Stylus Publishing, →ISBN

2. not comparableOf, like or relating to Jesus Christ.
3. Kind, charitable; moral; a term of approbation.

   That’s very Christian of you.

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   I cannot help thinking there are people in the world who are very tiresome, very impertinent, and very disagreeable; yet, I don’t think it would be a very Christian act were I to tell them so.

   1824, Susan Ferrier, The Inheritance

   I must say I have seen him do a very Christian act at the Fish River. Some Kafir women were there eating; he begged of them; they refused to give him any food. […] I gave him some of the victuals we were enjoying, and he instantly broke the bread, and gave of it to these very Kafir women who had just refused any of theirs.

   1854, Nathaniel James Merriman, The Kafir, the Hottentot, and the frontier farmer, page 74

   “Besides this,” said the trapper, “it is hardly a Christian act to leave these two men to perish by the hands of the savages[…]”

   1859, David W. Belisle, The American family Robinson, page 290

   So, in his esteem, an auto da fé — an “act of faith,” as the words mean — is really an act of faith — an act of such faith as the author of “Ecce Homo” approves — a most Christian act — a most humane act[…]

   1867, Henry Shepheard, Ithuriel’s spear; or, Is this Christianity?, page 118

   I have only been at home two days, and here I am come on the third to see you and Tiny, so it is not Christian of you — as my mother would say — to receive your dutiful grand-nephew in such an unkind manner[…]

   c. 1867, Janet Robertson, Christine; or, Common-Place People